Golden Steamer Red Bean Bun: Here's a classic Chinese bao favorite from Golden Steamer in NYC, filled with sweet red bean paste that is surprisingly mild in sweetness, especially compared to the typical sugar bomb you get elsewhere. Surrounded by soft and plump steamed white bread. This one is not bad, but it isn't especially interesting. If you like red bean buns, you will enjoy it, but it will taste like you expect it will. Costs under $1. 3.0/5.0
nyc buns chinatown goldensteamer red bean bun 3.0
Wei-Chuan sweet potato buns: These frozen buns have a nice consistency when steamed, but I have mixed feelings about its sweet potato filling. It tastes true to the ingredient, with a similar soft consistency, but I find it to be uncomfortably reminiscent of baby food. It isn't too sweet but also verges on lacking flavor. 2.5/5.0
weichua sweetpotato buns chinese frozen 2.5 weichuan sweet potato
Chimei red bean buns: Made in Taiwan, these frozen buns are light in sugar, at 3g per bun. Once they are steamed past a particular threshold (㸐 minutes), though, the dough tightens up, wrinkling and hardening almost like it was under a vacuum. If anyone knows scientifically what causes this phenomena, I'd very much like to know. That is the most interesting thing about this frozen product, which is pretty average flavor-wise. 2.5/5.0
chimei frozenbuns redbeanbun buns hmart 2.5 red bean
Wei-Chuan lotus seed paste buns: I love mantou, a Chinese steamed bun often consumed for breakfast. I recently purchased this Taiwanese lotus seed filled bun from Hmart and am a huge fan. The filling is very lightly sweetened (2g of sugar), and after about 10 minutes of steaming, the bread is pillowy yet slightly chewy. It's very difficult to find a brand of filled frozen buns that isn't insanely sweet, and these were also reasonably priced. 4.5/5.0
hmart exceptional frozen chinesetaieanese weichuan lotusseed 4.5 breakfast asian lotus seed paste buns
Steamed red-bean peach-shaped buns: A sign of longevity, these peach-shaped buns are typically gifted to the elderly in Chinese culture. I found this particular brand of pre-made, frozen buns in a Chinatown grocery store in Boston. Though a serving size is a single bun, I eat two for breakfast to feel satiated. The buns are surprisingly good steamed in a rice cooker; the amount of steamed white bread feels substantial, and the red bean filling is sweet, but not overpoweringly so. The air-brushed peach accents are impressive, e... (read more) 4.0/5.0
redbean chinese peach pastry bread recommended dessert 4.0 steamed red-bean peach-shaped buns